12

This week the hubs and I, my TALL-DRINK-OF-FINE, celebrated 12 years of marriage!?!?!!

What is life??  Are we that old???

(Look how precious, Babe bashfully covering my face for our “kiss the bride” moment)

We were such wee-babes when we made those vows.  Such wee-ones with wide-eyed wonder at what the future held.

I will never forget the night before our wedding, my swoon got the attention  of the entire room, filled to the brim with family and friends, our tribe, the champions of each of us separately and now both of us as one.  He dinged his knife on his glass until he had everyone’s attention.

“Ok everybody.  It’s my turn to make a speech.  But this speech is for my soon to be wife…”

He turned towards me and locked his gaze into mine….and I passed out from his hotness…jk but I wanted to.

“Cassie.  Tomorrow everything changes.  Tomorrow we become a family, me and you.  I have no idea what our future will look like, but I want you to know one thing:  we will ONLY do what God tells us to do.  No matter what that is.  Me and you will only go where he goes and stay put when he tells us to.  I will support you in whatever God calls you to and I just ask that you do the same for me.  We are going to be obedient….”

And turning to our room of people he said:

“And for all of you, our people, our family, just know that WE are going to do what God tells us to do.  We will listen to your wisdom and advice and we will appreciate it, but we won’t be swayed by it one way or the other.  My commitment to you in this room is to lead Cassie in the way of obedience, no matter how crazy that looks.”

YOU. GUYS. I. AM. FANNING. MYSELF. ALL. OVER. AGAIN.

Tears are also rolling down my face.

Man, how powerful those words are now 12 years later when they have proven to be true.

My Bae has led us to be obedient, and it has been hard, harder than we ever imagined, and it has been crazy and we have looked like a bunch of loons….but we have been as obedient as our flesh-filled hearts could possibly be.

Obedience to the Lord has gifted us with the greatest adventure of a life that we could have never dreamed up on our own.

That’s the thing about obedience, it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with our Creative Father who has a whole lot of dreamy plans up his sleeve that He’s willing to gift straight into our lives if we are simply willing to put our “yes” or sometimes our “maybe” “ok fine” or our terrified “I guess so” on the table.

We’ve done some crazy things and suffered and grieved and wrestled through seasons.  We’ve felt the peaks of joy and the rush of risk-taking.

And 12 years later we have lived to tell the tale, more in love today than we’ve ever been.

My hubby reminded me a lot of Moses that night in front of our people.

“If your presence will not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”  Exodus 33:15

In other words, Lord if you’re not taking the lead, if you’re not going on up ahead of us, we’re staying put.

 

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That’s what being obedient boils down to.  Not being willing to trade God’s presence for anything; not for comfort or safety or the agreement of your tribe.

Even if a silver platter version of a dream, a new job, a season of life, is held out in front of you…obedience always asks the question:  Will you go with us?  Is your presence already headed there?

Why is this question necessary in obedience?

Because God’s plans for our lives don’t always present themselves on a silver platter.  They don’t always look like the easiest options, like the safest routes.

In order to be obedient we must be willing to pass on what looks best or makes the most sense in exchange for where He is and where He is headed on our behalf.

Being obedient does not muzzle us.  It does not put a leash on all our dreams and wishes and plans.

Obedience actually blows the ceiling of possibility off of our lives because His plans are always greater and higher than ours.  Our best efforts to plan the grandest adventure simply fall short in comparison to the depths that He has for us.

Following Jesus is fun y’all.

It’s hard and gritty and unpredictable and to look like Him you must suffer.

But oh the places you will go with Him in the lead.

Here’s to another 12 years my love.  I’m already buckled up and ready to go.